I'm going to start by saying that I am a perfectly healthy 28 year old woman, with perfect blood pressure readings and a healthy heart, so from a blood pressure point of view I cannot give my opinion.

So, lets get on!What is betaine?

The company market it as a blood pressure reduction drug, saying this about it:

"Betaine is a naturally occurring chemical which is found in a number of vegetables, including beetroot. Betaine is a very interesting chemical, which has attracted a lot of research in recent years. Clinical studies on betaine have shown that it is able to protect the body from cardiovascular disease by lowering the amounts of homocystine circulating in the body, which in-turn lowers blood pressure. "

My interest was in the role of Betaine as a methyl donor, which has an important function in INCREASING muscle mass through the methylation of homocysteine (an amino acid) to form methionine. Methionine itself plays a crucial role in protein synthesis in the body, effectively acting like a creatine dose as methionine synthesises creatine in the body.

This works by having more methionine available, which in turn allows your body to go "gung-ho" on creatine production. This in turn sends your ATP production through the roof, which means you have more cellular energy - which funds additional mass growth/repair. In theory, it should increase muscle mass. There isn't much science to support this yet though.

Basically: it helps you make more creatine in your body, and creatine gives your cells more energy to grow more cells and repair the ones you have = increase in cells = increase in muscle mass.

I took some photos to chart the changing of my body over the three week testing period:

Excuse the filter on that first photo - I hope you can see past it to see the "GAINZ" over the past month for me!

I'm not saying that this supplement just put the muscle on for me. I workout 5-6 days a week, at least one of those days I workout twice in the day. I eat. I eat right (sometimes). I protein fuel my body AND I've been working on reducing my bodyfat percentages; but, as a woman it is hard to put muscle on (which is why I'm prone to bite any woman who says "oh, but won't you get bulky lifting weights?" PFFFFT. I wish!)

I have been steadily increasing the weight I lift, and my measurements show that where I've not had much fat to lose (e.g. on my biceps & calves particularly) I've gained mass. I have not been eating in surplus to my requirements as I'm aiming to cut fat off.

My final thoughts?

If you're interested to supplement & have a bit of spare cash give it a go. I'm not going to say it's an "essential" supplement, as you can get betaine from your food - but it's useful in the same way creatine supplementation is, to fine tune your gains.

The company are a friendly, no hassle company and from that point of view I recommend them totally.